For the Love of a Gun

We Americans love our guns. Love ‘em. We don’t just feel they’re a Right, a necessity, a possibly delusional buffer from harm; we’re freakin’ PASSIONATE about the things. We kick and scream in protest for them, demand the freedom to buy as many as we can, resist all attempts to regulate them; hell, we’d marry them if we could but that would trigger (no pun intended) the anti-gun-marrying lobby and that’s a whole other argument.

Why the love affair? Odd, when it seems to me that Gun Love has proven to be as high-maintenance, wildly erratic and inevitably dangerous as that hysterical, possibly bipolar chick who’s hot and feels absolutely essential to life but ends up trashing the living room and leaving hateful messages on your boss’s voice mail. But still we’re in love. Why? Why is a cold hunk of metal with the kick of a cannon and the ability to blow out a target, scare the shit out of a home invader, or rip through the brain of an unsuspecting congresswoman so firmly and irrevocably ensconced as the object of our affection?

I don’t know.

But I suspect it’s history. Guns are part of the American DNA. They won us the Revolution, propelled Manifest Destiny, got us through a whole bunch of wars, Indian uprisings, the Gold Rush, Prohibition and kept us in meat products. We needed guns, they were essential to our very survival for the bulk of this country’s history and in certain quarters (law enforcement, hunters, collectors, Olympians) they remain relevant even now. But beyond those select groups, what have they done for us lately?

Gun Lovers would holler, “Gun ownership is up and crime is down!” OK. That statistic has merit at first glance, but get out a magnifying glass and look at this chart posted by the US Department of Justice :

Yes, the trend for 2007 improved from the previous year. But look at the earlier years…lots of trending down then up again. And even if we do consider a temporary decrease in gun-related crime, analysis suggests that one must consider much more than gun ownership as the cause. More effective community policing, aging of the population, better gang intervention, more active neighborhood watch programs, metal detectors in schools and public buildings; all of these factors contribute to those shifting numbers. But whatever the trend, in the last year of reporting some 16,929 people were murdered, 68% by guns, and that’s daunting however you slant it.

The National Safety Council “investigated the likelihood of dying from firearms and determined that over the course of a lifetime, death by assault from firearms is 1 in 309.” And just recently it was reported on national news that shooting deaths of law enforcement officers are already up from this same time last year. If law enforcement officers, certainly better armed than the average citizen, can be so frequently victimized by guns, really, who can argue that possession is an effective deterrent?

Gun Lovers can. Lulled by the placebo effect of their trusty loaded companions, they’ll argue it till the day is done. But it’s interesting, the Tucson shooter wasn’t deterred by a Gun Lover packing protective heat. In fact, he was taken down by heroic, unarmed bystanders. In a concealed carry state. Which piques its own debate. But putting that aside, all of this leaves the rest of us to ponder: if gun possession offers such assurance of safety and protection, why are so many people being killed by them?

Though nobody knows exactly how many guns there are in the United States (as GunsandCrime.orgput it, “The only way to know with accuracy would be for the government to perform a surprise raid on every household simultaneously and to also search all buildings and likely hiding places at the same time.”), the American Firearms Institute (a pro-gun organization) estimates that “there are between 250 – 280 million firearms in the US; 40 – 50% of US homes own a firearm, that’s 120 – 150 million people.” According to the latest figures from the US Census Bureau, there are 311,947,145 people in the United States. Take the number of firearms and spread them out amongst that population and about 90% of people would own a gun. The 50% figure indicates that some households own multiple guns and others own none, but either way, those figures speak volumes. And, of course, this isn’t factoring in the criminal element…God knows what that accounting would do to those numbers!

In the spirit of full disclosure – and to prove my general firearm possession cred – my husband has a small collection of rifles and shotguns; all but one are family heirlooms, my son has .22 caliber rifle he used years ago to shoot soup cans in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, and I once owned a hearty .357 Magnum, a rather startling gift bestowed on my 20th birthday by a boyfriend who was obsessed with guns in general. He wanted me to have it as a companion piece to his .44 Magnum with the 8 3/8” barrel (yes, just like Dirty Harry) and insisted that we celebrate my big day by going to a makeshift shooting range to decimate a boatload of coffee cans (Red Lobster and cake would have been preferred). When I inevitably left him sometime after I discovered he was crazy and well-armed, he took the gun back, chased me down the street with his truck and a loaded rifle, and later became an Illinois policeman. My personal relationship with guns ended with him and I remain to this day unenthralled.

But don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating that people not be allowed to have guns. Frankly, I don’t care. Have as many as you can lay your hands on; stash them in your bunkers, your kitchens; your cool, hip-hugging, open carry gun belts. Talk about them a lot on the Internet, sleep better at night convinced that you’re safer, rally vociferously at gun shows dressed in camouflage while spouting bromides about the 2nd Amendment and what pussies Brady Bill proponents are. Take your kids to shooting ranges for jolly good family fun and teach them to love the power of guns while listening to “Cat Scratch Fever.” Get pissed off whenever anyone attempts to reason with you about regulation or limitation. Be in love. We get it: YOU NEED YOUR GUNS. YOU NEED YOUR AK47, YOUR 9MM PISTOL, YOUR THOMPSON CENTER ARMS ENCORE MUZZLELOADING RIFLE AND YOU DON’T WANT ANYONE – NOT BLOODY ANYONE – TELLING YOU TO WAIT FOR A PERMIT, LIMIT THE NUMBER OF BULLETS OR GET A BACKGROUND CHECK BEFORE YOU PICK UP THAT OBJECT OF YOUR OBSESSION.

Relax. We get it.

What you need to get? That there are a whole lot of us out here far less concerned about your love affair than the hideous numbers of murders, assaults, rapes, spousal abuse events and other violent gun crimes perpetrated by crazy, pissed off people who love guns as much as you do. Go ahead, say it: guns don’t kill; people do…blah, blah, blah. But tell me, how many people do you think the Tucson shooter would have killed or injured with just a knife? How many kids and teachers would the Columbine killers have mowed down if they’d been relegated to machetes or baseball bats? Any guess how much less effective a murderer on top of tower, aiming into a crowd or focused on someone in the distance would be were he not deftly assisted by the mechanics and firepower of a gun? Logic, my friends, logic is required.

But, you opine, it isn’t fair to oppress and restrict the Good Gun Lovers because of what the bad ones have done. I know, grow up, that’s the Way of the World. Bad Guys always ruin it for Good Guys in every walk of life. Ever get involved with someone previously shattered by a cheating cad? That’s right, you’re going to pay for the sins of that last errant Lothario. Dog owners? I can’t take my dog to the beach because the ill-trained ones of Bad Dog Owners bit people, tumbled kids and pooped on the dunes and because of them, my Good Dog must worship the surf from afar. Bad Guys hijacked and blew up planes so now all we Good Guys have to suffer through every manner of delay, humiliation and loss of our shampoo bottles just to get to our seats. Way of the World.

But here’s the cold, hard truth, whether you Gun Lovers want to hear it or not: there are too many guns in this country and too many crazy people using them. Regardless of what the framers had in mind when they penned the 2nd Amendment, they could not possibly have envisioned the world in which we now live or the obsessive, compulsive, testosterone-driven madness that has been perpetrated by the rabid misinterpretation of their intent. The ass-kissing that is politically de rigueur with the NRA and the pro-gun lobby is appalling and shameful because no one – NO ONE – should be unwilling to honestly and clinically look at the destruction caused by guns and readily come to the table to discuss effective solutions towards solving gun violence. If I were a Gun Lover I’d demand those solutions so that my right to own a gun would not be any more impacted by the actions of crazy people than it already is. Fear, ego, machismo, xenophobia, fundamentalism, paranoia, conspiracy theorism and downright ignorance have ruled the day when it comes to gun control. Like a toddler who most passionately possesses a toy when he fears someone’s going to take it away, I suspect a similar thread of selfishness and paranoia propels much of this lunacy. GET OVER IT! Your need to own and possess is as petty as a nit compared to the human, decent urge to prevent tragedy and truly attempt to make the world a safer place, not just in your gun-protected home but in the schools, businesses, airports, post offices and streets of this country. No one wants to pry the gun from your hands – cold, dead or otherwise; we simply want rational, sensible, and effective regulations to be uniformly enforced so that fewer children die in the parking lots of our neighborhood grocery stores.

For any of us, Gun Lovers and Others, that should not be too much to ask.

Resource some of you might be interested in: http://supgv.org/ (States United To Prevent Gun Violence).

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71 thoughts on “For the Love of a Gun”

John Cardella

Great thoughts and writing as always. I grew up with brothers and relatives that loved to hunt. I never cared for it myself, how can you kill a deer after seeing Bambi? Even though it wasn’t my cup of tea I always respected my relatives in the way they hunted. They never killed anything they didn’t intend to eat and they stressed gun safety above all else. When my brother shot a deer (he doesn’t hunt anymore) he always said a little prayer to thank God for his bounty and that the animal wouldn’t suffer. When I was young the NRA was a great organization and their main focus was teaching gun safety and respect for firearms. That obviously isn’t the case any more. Any attempt at making common sense changes in our gun laws is met by accusations of destroying the 2nd ammendment. We can argue the constitution all day long but what possible reason should there be for armor piercing bullets being legal? As the Lawrence O’donnell asked Arizona Congressman Franks, “Congressman Franks, Do you wish that his gun held 10 bullets instead of 31 bullets”. Are we infringing on anyones second ammendment rights by making illegal a 31 clip magazine? The gun lobby and the low education citizen are a dangerous combination. My two cents.

I think the gun lobbyists and the NRA would like to perpetuate the myth that only gun-haters and people who’ve never owned guns are behind the push to regulate. Your comments – as well as my own family’s gun possession admission – prove that to be disingenuous and a ridiculous red herring to the argument. I really believe everyone should want sane controls. Would the head of the NRA feel any differently if his daughter was gunned down in that parking lot or slaughtered under her desk at Columbine? I just don’t get the closed mindedness of the lobby. It seems so dangerously short-sighted and lacking in big-picture concern for one’s fellow man. No one should have to fear that the mentally ill can walk in a gun store or get to a gun show and so easily purchase a weapon of mass destruction. I’d challenge the true, honest gun lovers to stand up and demand better protections for the sake of everyone’s children, grandmothers and politicians.

Conservatives often use the catchphrase “common sense solutions” (see Sarah Palin). Based on their candidates’ recent interpretations, this means “2nd amendment remedies” if we don’t like the way the vote turned out, “don’t retreat, reload” the mantra of one candidate, now grifter-speaker, and I want my citizenry “armed and dangerous” – McCarthyite-student Bachmann.

When the leaders speak thusly, why are we surprised to see openly gun-toting citizens at political rallies. They assert 2nd amendment rights, but isn’t it really about intimidation and misplaced testosterone?

The frontier/urban frontier mentality has been reinforced through the cultural narratives in teevee and movies and further ingrains the idea that a shootout at the OK Corrall is the answer. Or that, as in Red Dawn, a group of armed teens can take on the state’s firepower (Wolverines!). Waco and Ruby Ridge didn’t go too well, but plenty were killed when arms became the way to resolve political differences.

I have no quarrel with privately owned guns or hunting or target practice uses. If people believe a gun will protect them in their homes, ok…I get that. But supersized magazines and open or concealed carries in public places is where I don’t see common sense solutions coming forward. If you are too impatient to reload a 9 clip magazine at target practice, you may be a poor candidate to own a gun. Even bowlers have to wait for the reset on their hobby.

The erosion of assistance for mental health issues, the intractable NRA positions, the stress of the current economic near-collapse, and the continued manufactured hysteria from the talking heads that banks on its foundation – fear – well, that’s one toxic cocktail.

Cris, as always, your comment is cogent, deeply felt and ultimately a wise take on the debate. I always appreciate that you add to the body of the article, fleshing it out even further; thank you! Your excellent writing skills raise the bar of the blog (that sounds like a watering hole for wayward bloggers!:) and I always wait for your words!

I especially appreciate your and others’ voices underscoring the fact that most free-thinking Americans are not interested in taking away anyone’s 2nd Amendment rights. It seems a well-worn scare tactic of the Right, the NRA and the pro-gun lobby to fear-monger on the supposed Either/Or of this argument: the “no limitations whatsoever on gun ownership” vs “all guns confiscated from private citizens.” What a disingenuous deflection from truth and the urgent need for reform. It obviously works for the hard-core gun folks, who revert to eye-bulging apoplexy at the mere mention of gun control, so fearful and defensive of their position. But for most sane people, gun owners or otherwise, the proliferation of handguns, semi-automatic assault weapons and concealed/carry guns in churches, bars, and all manner of public places, is overkill. Sometimes – and unfortunately – literally.

Like so many other fractious debates in this country, I’m convinced there is common ground to be had but it will require the zealots, partisans and rabble rousers to shut up and step away from the table long enough for the wiser minds on both sides of the issue to produce some very necessary regulation. Will that happen? I don’t know. But I’m certainly going to beat the drum toward that goal.

Blogs can help bring humanity back into the workplace. We have become so concerned with communicating numbers and processes that employees have forgotten how to build relationships. How can companies ask employees to provide superior service and innovative thinking when everything they see and hear flies in the face of that? Blogs help create a culture that supports those behaviors.

Very interesting perspective, Alexander. I think blogs can contribute to bringing all kinds of improved human interaction to all kinds of settings, but surely the workplace is one of those. To the extent my thoughts and words contribute to a culture that supports service and innovative thinking, I’m grateful. Best to you. LDW

Excellent essay! Thank you! I work for States United to Prevent Gun Violence (www.supgv.org) and I can assure you we also don’t advocate that people not be allowed to own guns. We ask for reasonable safeguards that work to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Unfortunately, the gun lobby has equated any gun control with all gun confiscation. This makes it difficult to even begin a meaningful conversation on how to prevent gun violence.
Essays like your help! I will be posting it on our Facebook page.

I think there’s so much heat and vitriol around this topic that it’s sometimes hard to make clear the fine lines and nuances that exist in the debate. The extremists on both sides of the issue seem to jump to smoke and fury so quickly that rational discussion rarely can be achieved.

As I stressed a previous commenter, I have no desire to see gun lovers lose their right to own and use their guns. Guns are not a passion of mine (clearly!), but I respect that they are a passion for many people. And with that passion, one must also have the clarity to understand that this particular passion has the power to destroy lives if put in the wrong hands. And those of us out here who object to the ease with which that too often happens are simply but firmly advocating our own passion…to see better, more effective, solutions to gun violence, including the enforcement of mental health screenings, wait periods in the meantime, and sensible restrictions where needed. I suspect there were some gun lovers in the crowd in Tucson and they no more want to die at the hands of a gun-toting maniac than any of us do!

Frankly, I would hope that the bulk of the gun lovers out there are smart, open-minded, and capable of realizing that responsibility comes with the freedom to bear arms. When that freedom collides with the general population’s right to be safe in their homes and public places, safe from the potential of gun death and injury perpetrated by an emotionally disturbed or mentally ill individual who was able to get a gun with little restriction, it’s time for ALL of us to stand up for the good of the collective.

And this member of the collective believes there has to be a way to preserve freedoms while still wisely managing the implementation of those freedoms. Just sayin…!

Thanks for writing and reading and I’ll definitely check out your sites. LDW

Don’t get me started. Having read your blog, let me remind you that there are those now convinced that you, my dear woman, are too damn rationally vocal to be occupying breathing space on this fruited plain. But then, so am I. However my picture does not accompany my comments!

Lorraine, please humor me and promise me one thing, alright two. Promise me that before venturing out into the motherland you’ll look both ways before crossing,
and that you will not only wear sunglasses but also
cover your face with some sort of bandit’s mask or scarf or hejab. No, scratch the hejab.
Even the slightest suggestion that you might be Muslim would be self-defeating in gun-loving, god-fearing, crown-thy-good-with-brotherhood
America.
Because, you see, all those gun-lovers who might have been sent a link to your magnificent blog on the subject have now got a pretty good look at your face. And we who love our lives and use our brains to speak out against uncontrolled universal gun- ownership in order to preserve our lives, face the bizaare penalty of getting those very brains blown out by the opposition to our opposition. And frankly, that scares me. Here.
In America.
Where the really brave don’t carry guns.

Donna: I’m not sure I share your abiding fear that just by writing this blog I’m in danger of potential death and destruction! (at least I hope not!) I think there are many writers out there saying many of the same things, some with much more rigid opinions and some quite a bit more vociferous than I!

Frankly, I give gun-lovers a bit more credit. Anyone who actually took the time to read my blog would realize I’m supporting their right to keep their guns. And I’m serious about that. As I mentioned in the article, my own husband has guns. I have absolutely no desire to raise the flag for disallowing responsible gun ownership…that’s not the clarion call of this piece at all.

My point is to assert that ALL of us – people who love guns, people who hate guns, people who don’t care about guns one way or the other – ALL of us should care enough about humanity and the safety of our fellow man to be willing to put sensible controls into place that will be efficiently enforced so that the mentally ill cannot walk into a store or gun show and pick up a gun without delay. That’s the point I’m making. NOT that everyone else should lose their right to bear arms.

I think it’s important that people speak up to say even the difficult things. The controversial things. Because if we stop speaking and hide in our fear, we’re abdicating what it means to live in a democracy where EVERYONE’S ideas and beliefs are given the stage. There are dangers everywhere if we look for them but we have to choose to live our lives with the conviction and belief that there is more good than evil out there. I believe that. I hope you do too.

This is a really interesting article on the topic of gun ownership in America, You are a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I have shared your site in my social networks!

What can you say? Not every person has the exact same thoughts on this topic but it is good to see a diverse range of ways of looking at things, to put it crudely. Enables you to settle back and wonder about your personal habits and preconceived ideas at times.

hopefully this comment doesn’t appear multiple times (it appears to freeze once i try to post my comment.. not sure if it’s really posting), but all I really wanted to say was fantastic post and thanks for sharing.

Nice post. The ideas presented here were the best I could find all day long, and I have been searching tough on the Internet. I think you should put this up on a large social bookmarking website, you will discover that it spreads like wildfire, guns are one of those hot topics. – Cheers – dave

Thanks, Dave. I’ve actually got it posted on Facebook and elsewhere so we’ll hope for the outcome you predict! Feel free to pass it on wherever you think there might be interested readers. Appreciate the support. LDW

I don’t have a problem with gun ownership. I do have a problem with controlling who uses them & since each State has a different mindset on the purpose of having a gun why don’t we just control the bullets? You can own all the guns you want, but when you want to buy the ammunition, you should have to go to the police station in each city to buy it. And each bullet should cost A LOT. Rifles are used more often for shooting game in such a place like Montana so they could be cheaper. A 31 round clip for an automatic pistol, good for target practice & killing lots of people in a public place, should cost hundreds of dollars, not $49 as it is now. And this way you have a public servant who knows who’s buying the bullets.

Michael – I actually think that’s a very sensible and manageable solution. If only people in positions of power agreed. But you’re right; without the bullets, the guns can do little harm so perhaps you should send your suggestion to your Congressman, see how it flies. It’s an intriguing one…

So I have to concede that you made some fine points there. I did a search on the topic and found many people will have the same opinion with your site, even some who own guns. So I guess we’ll see what happens.

It’s a big and controversial topic, Billie, with lots of strong, heartfelt opinions on both sides of the issue. But I think if we got down to the nit and grit of what every human being wants – a sense of safety – I think we could put aside our specific arguments to come up with regulations that work for the collective. As you say, I guess we’ll see what happens…LDW

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Well, Clinton, I appreciate your support but I don’t think it’s that simplistic. I think for a lot of people there’s a tremendous fear of losing rights they feel passionate about. But it seems to many of us that the passion of one can’t infringe on the safety of another (second hand smoke, drinking and driving, etc.). And just as we seek remedies, solutions and better regulations when planes crash, or cars accelerate on their own, or people use box cutters to take down a plane, so must we all open our minds to reasonable, manageable solutions to gun violence. It’s not about taking away anyone’s guns, anymore than we’d say you can’t drink or smoke or use box cutters; it’s about getting past knee-jerk, reactionary responses and looking at the greater good. It can be done. And if manhood comes into play, it would have something to do with stepping up and getting beyond small thinking. Thanks for reading! LDW

I have to say that this is really an affecting look at this very sensitive subject matter. I am pleased you discussed your views and inspiring ideas and I discovered I agree for the most part…it’s not about confiscation, it’s about control and that can be done. I truly love your clear writing and also the effort and hard work you’ve spent on this post. Loads of thanks for the decent work on top of that good luck with this web site, I most definitely will be awaiting new articles in the future.

I just couldnt leave your web page without telling you that I genuinely enjoyed the info you present to your readers…even with a topic this intense and heated, you made it an easy, accessible read. Know people on both sides of this gun argument so I plan to pass it on…interesting to see what kind of conversation that’ll bring about!

I really find this is a great, controversial interesting subject. Never looked at it quite this way, but you may be right about gun love. Much to think about. If you are going to create more articles about this subject, I will return in the near future!

It is a subject that seems to engender a lot of debate, that’s for sure! I think everyone should think a lot more about it than many do…it may be a right to own a gun, but that doesn’t preclude sane controls and smart regulation. Thanks for your comment, Clancy, and I hope you will return in the future! LDW

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Pretty impressive post. I just came across your site and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. This particular article is a tough one and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people had some opinions about it! Any way I’ll be coming back and I hope you post again soon.

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Like the game from which it playfully borrows its title, Rock+Paper+Music focuses on whatever topic wins the throw-down on a given day, be it art, books, music, politics, cultural events, or social commentary. In other words, LIFE… in all caps!

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